All publications herein are incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication or patent application was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference. The following description includes information that may be useful in understanding the present invention. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art or relevant to the presently claimed invention, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
Whereas cancer treatment by porphyrins and related macrocyclic compounds has been investigated extensively for many decades, the therapeutic potential of corroles has only recently been disclosed. Sulfonated corroles are water soluble (amphipolar) macrocyclic compounds, whose Fe(III) and Mn(III) complexes are very active catalysts for decomposition of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species involved in a variety of relevant diseases. Also noteworthy is the finding that Ga(III) and Al(III) derivatives are intensely fluorescent at relatively long wavelengths. While these metal complexes are capable of undergoing endocytosis via co-uptake with, or noncovalent attachment to, serum proteins in vitro and in vivo, they are unable to penetrate cell membranes without facilitation by membrane-lytic molecules. Hence, toxic corroles, such as the Ga(III) derivative, are safe at pharmacologic doses but can kill cells when allowed to breach into the cytosol.